Acute Toxicity of Copper, Cadmium, and zinc to Larvae of the Crab Paragrapus quadridentatus (H. Milne Edwards), and Implications for Water Quality Criteria

Abstract

Acute toxicity tests were carried out on the larvae of P. quadridentatus and 96-h LC50 values of 0.17, 0.49, and 1.23 mg/l were determined for copper, cadmium, and zinc respectively. Potency ratios of the three metals were as follows: Cu/Cd 3.1, Cu/Zn 7.2, and Cd/Zn 2.4. Larvae were found to be nine times more sensitive to zinc and at least 29 times more sensitive to cadmium than were adults. The larval 96-h LC50 values multiplied by an application factor of 0.01 (as recommended in Victorian water quality criteria) results in derived 'safe' concentrations, which in the case of copper and zinc are below the stated 'minimal risk concentrations' of 10 and 20 �g/I respectively. In view of the known greater sensitivity of larvae of many taxa to heavy metal toxicity, the validity of using the same application factor for both adult and larval stages is questioned.

Environmental Effects on Toxicity of Heavy Metals to Two Species of Tropical Marine Fish from Northern Australia

“…Both fish species are relatively metal tolerant compared with several other marine organisms, particularly the larval and juvenile crustaceans (Portmann, 1968;Conner, 1972;Rosenberg and Costlow, 1976;Ahsanullah and Amott, 1978;Denton and BurdonJones, 1982). Thus, they are not really suitable for establishing quality criteria for tropical marine waters, at least, not for those metals considered here.…”

Toxicokinetics and toxicity of zinc under time‐varying exposure in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

“…For rainbow trout and brown trout, LC50s of 1.9 to 2.3 mg/L have been measured [17]. For seven marine invertebrate species, LC50s of 0.58 to 13.1 mg/L were estimated [30], and for larvae of the crab ( Paragrapsus quadridentatus ), the corresponding value was 1.23 mg/L [31]. In a long‐term experiment using the shrimp ( Calli‐anasa australiensis ) LC50s of 10.2 and 1.15 mg/L for 4‐ and 14‐d exposure times, respectively, were estimated [32].…”

Temperature and Salinity Effects on the Acute Toxicity of Cadmium to Laomedea loveni (Hydrozoa)

“…Table 4 lists values for other species obtained for periods of time comparable to those used with L. loveni. Further data for acute toxicity of Cd to marine animals have been presented by Eisler (1971), O'Hara (1973), Ahsanullah (1976), Negilsh (1976, Ahsanullah and Arnott (1978), Nimmo et al (1978), Schreck and Lorz (1978) (1978). Differences in Cd tolerance of different species may be related to their permeabilities and rates of heavy-metal accumulation as well as to different sensitivities of their enzyme systems (Vallee and Ulmer, 1972).…”